FOREWQRD 



In eairly I96O during discussions at David Taylor Model Basin a need 

 was cited for a world-wide climatological hindcast of ocean wave spectra. 

 Previous experience from manual computations of \ra,ve spectra at a single 

 point for one year had shown that this project on an ocean-wide basis and 

 for several years would be a formidable task and probably not feasible 

 except by some electronic computer method. Following several more con- 

 ferences during the year the U. S. Naval Oceanographi c Office was assigned 

 the task in early February I96I of hindcasting by machine methods the 

 ocean wave spectra for the Worth Atlantic Ocean for various seasons of 

 the year. The climatological wave spectra obtained were to be recorded 

 by some computer processing system so that the spectra could be used in 

 other computer programs. 



The basic purpose of this study, as initiated by the Bureau of Naval 

 Weapons, was to provide a wave climatology from which carrier-deck 

 motion spectra could be generated as a function of carrier class, speed, 

 and heading for different geographical locations and seasons of the year. 

 The carrier motion data in combination with separate studies to deter- 

 mine airplane response to command signals from the AN/STN-10 Landing 

 Control Central would then define a landing environment and the basis 

 for the structural design of carrier-based airplanes for fully auto- 

 matic landings. 



This final report gives a resume of the various phases of the task, 

 the' problems encountered with their solutions, and a simimary of the 

 final results. These results represent the culmination of about four 

 years of determined effort by a large number of people in overcoming 

 the many problems of a complex research project. 



ODALE D. WATERS 



Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy 



Commander 



U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office 



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